Abstract: Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) is considered to be an excellent candidate for lead-free piezoelectric
ceramics. In this study, we propose a hydrothermal method for the preparation of single phase NBT
powder at relatively low treatment-temperature. The particle size and morphology of the synthesized
powders were examined by SEM. The powders were further pressed into disk and sintered at 1120°C/2h
in air, and its properties and microstructure were compared with traditionally prepared samples.

Abstract: Nd-doped bismuth titanate Bi4-xNdxTi3O12 (BNT) thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si
substrates by sol-gel method and spin-coating technique. The structures and the ferroelectric properties of
the films were investigated. Nd doping leads to a marked improvement in the remanent polarization (Pr)
and the coercive field (Ec). At the applied electric field of 260 kV/cm, Pr and Ec of the BNT film with
x=0.5 annealed at 650oC are 19 μC/cm2 and 135 kV/cm, respectively. Moreover, the BNT film with x=0.5
showed a fatiguefree behavior up to 3×1010 read/write cycles.

Abstract: Nd-doped bismuth titanate and random oriented Bi4-xNdxTi3O12 (BNT) thin films were
fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by rf magnetron sputtering technique. These samples had
polycrystalline Bi-layered perovskite structure without preferred orientation, and consisted of well
developed rod-like grains with random orientation. The remanent polarization (Pr) and coercive field (Ec)
of the BNT film with x = 0.5 were above 19 μC/cm2 and 50 KV/cm, respectively. Nd doping into BIT
caused a shift of the Curie temperature (TC) of the BIT from 675°C to 660, 520, 410 and 256oC for the
films with x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0, respectively. The experimental results indicated that Nd doping into
BIT result in a remarkable improvement in ferroelectric and dielectric properties.

Abstract: Dielectric characteristics of strontium titanate based ceramics doped with samarium were
investigated within temperature range from –60oC to 150oC. XRD was used to identify the phase
compositions of the ceramics and the microstructures were characterized by SEM. Good temperature
coefficient of capacitance (TCC) was observed: TCC = +18% ~ −11% with high dielectric constant of
18000 and relative low dielectric loss. After further modification, the present ceramics might be
promising candidates for the multilayer ceramic capacitors applications at high temperature.

Abstract: Bismuth titanate nanopowders were prepared by the hydrothermal method from
Bi(NO3)3·5H2O, TiCl4 and KOH aqueous solution. The influences of reaction temperature and KOH
concentration on the crystalline phase, morphology, and grain size of the prepared Bi4Ti3O12 powders
were investigated. The results showed that well-crystallized, dispersive Bi4Ti3O12 nanopowders could
be prepared by the hydrothermal treatment at 220–260°C for 6 h, in the case of [Ti]= 0.1 M, Bi:Ti =
4:3 and [KOH]=1.0–2.0 M. The prepared Bi4Ti3O12 powders of the orthorhombic structure were
observed to be rectangle slice-shaped, and the grain sizes were about 30 nm in width and above100
nm in length. It was also confirmed that the desired concentration of KOH decreased with increasing
of the treatment temperature.

Abstract: Ferroelectric thick films of Bi3NbTiO9 (BNT) with Aurivillius type structure were
fabricated using the airflow deposition method at room temperature. The precursor powder for
deposition was prepared by a conventional mixed oxide route. The BNT films obtained from airflow
deposition had thickness between 25 and 90 μm. Subsequent sintering showed that the films were
sinterable at lower temperatures than bulk samples prepared from the same powder using isostatic
cold pressing technique. Thick films sintered at 900 0C displayed higher density and a higher
electrical breakdown field compared with bulk samples. SEM microscopy showed similar grain size
for the thick films sintered at 900 0C and corresponding bulk samples sintered at 1150 0C. A
pronounced preferential grain orientation of 70% along the c-axis was observed for thick films with
thickness of 252m sintered at 9000C. While the grain orientation in bulk samples was random the
grains in the thick films were aligned along the substrate plane. This significant microstructural
difference between thick film and bulk samples is believed to be associated with directional nature of
the deposition process. The novel method allowed anisotropic film formation without applying
pressure during sintering. Low sintering temperature allows reduction in bismuth losses and better
grain growth control, which also contributes to the advantages of the method.

Abstract: The (1-x)PST-xPZT(PSTZT) complex perovskite relaxor ferroelectric ceramics were prepared
by wolframite precursor process(named two-step-sintering method, TSSM) and conventional oxides
mixing method (named one-step-sintering method, OSSM), respectively. The experimental results demonstrated
that pure perovskite PSTZT ceramics could be acquired by OSSM or TSSM. The temperature
dependence of permittivity and dielectric loss of PSTZT ceramics indicated that PSTZT ceramics are
relaxor ferroelectric ceramics with a complete diffusive phase transition. The pyroelectric properties of
PSTZT ceramics prepared by OSSM and TSSM were also investigated via quiet-state method. It was
found that the larger the x value of (1-x)PST-xPZT is, the lower the pyroelectric coefficient of PSTZT
ceramics is. The pyroelectric coefficient of 0.9PST-0.1PZT ceramics is about (8~25) × 10-8C/cm2·K at
room temperature. The pyroelectric figure of merit of PSTZT ceramics was also discussed.